pranks? He has disowned me for his father, and
I disown him for my son."

The next day Peggy Black called, and asked
to see master. Old Betty, after the first
surprise, looked at her from head to foot, and foot
to head, as if measuring her for a suit of
Disdain; and told her she might carry her own
message; then flounced into the kitchen, and
left her to shut the street door, which she did.
She went and dropped her curtsey at the parlour
door, and in a miminy piminy voice said she was
come to make her submission, and would he
forgive her, and give her another trial? Her
penitence, after one or two convulsive efforts,
ended in a very fair flow of tears.

Mr. Hardie shrugged his shoulders, and asked
Jane if the girl had ever been saucy to her.

"Oh no, papa: indeed I have no fault to find
with poor Peggy."

"Well then go to your work, and try and not
offend Betty; remember she is older than you."

Peggy went for her box and bandbox, and
reinstated herself quietly, and all old Betty's
endeavours to irritate her only elicited a calm
cunning smile, with a depression of her downy
eyelashes.

Albion Villa.

Next morning Edward Dodd was woke out of
a sound sleep, at about four o'clock, by a hand
upon his shoulder: he looked up, and rubbed
his eyes; it was Julia standing by his bedside
dressed, and in her bonnet: " Edward," she said
in a hurried whisper, " there is foul play: I
cannot sleep, I cannot be idle. He has been
decoyed away, and perhaps murdered. Oh, pray
get up and go to the police office or somewhere
with me."

"Very well; but wait till morning."

"No; now; now; now; now. I shall never
go out of doors in the daytime again. Wait?
I'm going crazy with wait, wait, wait, wait,
waiting."

Her hand was like fire on him, and her eyes
supernaturally bright.

"There," said Edward with a groan, " go
down stairs, and I will be with you directly."

He came down: they went out together: her
little burning hand pinched his tight, and her
swift foot seemed scarcely to touch the ground;
she kept him at his full stride till they got to
the central police station. There, at the very
thought of facing men, the fiery innocent
suddenly shrank together, and covered her blushing
face with her hot hands. She sent him in alone.
He found an intelligent superintendent, who
entered into the case with all the coolness of an
old official hand.

Edward came out to his sister, and, as he
hurried her home, told her what had passed:
" The superintendent asked to see the letter; I
told him he had taken it with him: that was a
pity, he said. Then he made me describe Alfred
to a nicety: and the description will go up to
London this morning, and all over Barkington,
and the neighbourhood, and the county."

She stopped to kiss him, then went on again
with her head down, and neither spoke till they
were nearly home: then Edward told her "the
superintendent felt quite sure that the villain
was not dead; nor in danger of it."

"Oh, bless him! bless him! for saying so."

"And that he will turn up in London before
very long; not in this neighbourhood; he says
he must have known the writer of the letter,
and his taking his luggage with him shows he
has gone off deliberately. My poor little Ju,
now do try and look at it as he does, and everybody
else does; try and see it as you would if
you were a bystander."

She laid her soft hand on his shoulder as if to
support herself floating in her sea of doubt:
"I do see I am a poor credulous girl; but how
can my Alfred be false to me? Am I to doubt
the Bible? am I to doubt the sun? Is nothing
true in heaven or earth? Oh, if I could only
have died as I was dressing for church— died
while he seemed true! He is true; the wicked
creature has cast some spell on him: he has
gone in a moment of delirium; he will regret
what he has done, perhaps regrets it now. I
am ungrateful to you, Edward, and to the good
policeman, for saying he is not dead. What
more do I require? he is dead to me. Edward,
let us leave this place. We were going: let us
go to-day; this very day; oh, take me and hide
me where no one that knows me can ever see
me again." A flood of tears came to her relief:
and she went along sobbing and kissing her
brother's hand every now and then.

But, as they drew near the gate of Albion
Villa, twilight began to usher in the dawn.
Julia shuddered at even that faint light, and fled
like a guilty thing, and hid herself sobbing in
her own bedroom.

Musgrove Cottage.

Mr. Richard Hardie slept better, since his
return, from Yorkshire, than he had done for
some time past, and therefore woke more
refreshed and in better spirits. He knew an
honest family was miserable a few doors off;
but he did not care. He got up and shaved
with a mind at ease. Only, when he had
removed the lather from one half his face, he
happened to look out of window, and saw on the
wall opposite— a placard: a large placard to
this effect:

"ONE HUNDRED GUINEAS REWARD!

Whereas on the 11th instant Mr. Alfred Hardie
disappeared mysteriously from his lodgings in 15
Mill-street under circumstances suggesting a
suspicion of foul play, know all men that the
above reward will be paid to any person or
persons who shall first inform the undersigned
where the said Alfred Hardie is to be found,
and what person or persons, if any, have been
concerned in his disappearance.
ALEXANDER SAMPSON
39 Pope-street
Napoleon-square
London."

At sight of this, Mr. Hardie was seized with
a tremor, that suspended the razor in mid air: